Olmeca-Xicallanca

According to legend, the Olmeca-Xicallanca came from Chicomoztoc and are descended from Iztac Mixcoatl who had six sons with his wife Ilancueitl. Each son settled a region of Mexico. The third and fourth, Ulmecatl and Xicalancatl, were the ancestors of the Olmeca-Xicallanca. They crossed mountains and volcanos to settle in Cuernavaca, Chalco and Cholula. However, a northern origin of the Olmeca-Xicallanca has been doubted, and it was perhaps invented on the basis of them speaking the Nahuatl language. == Social organization ==

Like other Mesoamerican peoples, the Olmeca-Xicallanca were a federation of allied peoples, each one having their own province. Cholula is believed to have been governed by a pair of priest-kings who resided in the temple of Quetzalcoatl. One of them, the Tlalchiach, held the emblem of the jaguar and the earth, while the other, the Aquiach, was associated with the eagle and the sky. Having come from a land with many rivers in Tabasco and Campeche, they worshipped all that was related to water. == Cacaxtla ==

The Olmeca-Xicallanca are believed to be the builders of Cacaxtla in what is now the state of Tlaxcala. Cacaxtla is an archaeological complex composed of five superimposed structures which have not all yet been studied, located on a hill overlooking a valley in the municipality of Natívitas, 19 kilometers southwest of Tlaxcala City. Cacaxtla is known for its impressive murals, some of the most extensive and well-preserved in Mesoamerica. The name Cacaxtla is derived from the Nahuatl cacaxtli, referring to type of basket woven from roots and branches which merchants and tamemes (porters) used to carry goods on their backs. This is clearly depicted in the mural of the Red Temple, where a small man with a turtle shell and his cargo called cacaxtli can be seen; hence the name of this archaeological site. == References ==